The present invention relates generally to the field of temperature measuring devices, and in its preferred embodiments, devices which can be used both to measure the temperature of a liquid stream and to collect a sample of the liquid when the liquid reaches a desired temperature.
Securing a thermometer to the surface of a container is not new in the art. Nevertheless, patents have issued as recently as 1994 for containers which have or suggest surface-mounted thermometers, including U.S. Pat. No. D. 343,129 to Farley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,683 to Brett, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,003 to Winnonger. Farley discloses a measuring cup adorned with a pictorial of a mercury bulb-type thermometer. Brett and Winnongur, on the other hand, teach working apparatus. In particular, Brett's assembly utilizes a removable thermometer to measure the temperature of a liquid held in a cup; his thermometer is a resilient insert containing a liquid crystal thermometer which, placed inside the cup, conforms to the shape of its interior wall. Winnongur also employs a liquid crystal thermometer; the latter is mounted facing an aquarium wall so that it can be read through the aquarium water.
Each of these prior art combinations has a thermometer for sensing the temperature of liquid retained within a cup, an aquarium or the like. None of the prior art containers has a thermometer mounted thereon which can be used to measure the temperature of a liquid before it is collected and held in the container.